Cambridge United will face an away trip in the last 32 of the Checkatrade Trophy after a 2-0 defeat to Scunthorpe saw them finish as Northern Group G runners-up.

In front of a record low home crowd for a competitive fixture – the attendance of 666 was 27 lower than that against Middlesbrough in the previous tie – a goal in each half was enough to see the Iron triumph and top the pool.

Only three United players who started against Dover in the FA Cup at the weekend were in the 11 – Will Norris, James Dunne and Max Clark.

Blair Adams was given a rare start and George Maris and Medy Elito were in from the off as they get back up to speed after injuries.

Sky Bet League One leaders Scunthorpe enjoyed lots of early possession and moved the ball across the turf nicely, with Luke Williams in particular being a thorn in the U’s side thanks to some good close control and tidy dribbling skills.

United needed to defend well and weather the early storm, and some good headed clearances from Josh Coulson ensured they did so.

Starting to get a foothold in the game, United set about trying to pose an attacking threat and Ben Williamson worked hard to link up with his midfielders.

Pigott was also up front and, like Williamson, clearly determined to show what he could bring to the side after a slow start to the campaign. He threw himself into several aerial duels as he attempted to mix it with the Scunthorpe centre-backs.

Unfortunately for Pigott, he was forced off midway through the first half following a clash of heads inside the Iron penalty area.

His misfortune presented an opportunity to Matt Foy, the 18-year-old forward having only signed his first professional contract with the U’s at the end of last week.

It was then Adams’ turn to suffer bad luck as a lengthy period being attended to on the sidelines, seemingly due to illness, resulted in him being replaced by another teenager, Leon Davies.

Cambridge United keeper Will Norris launches a goalkick in front of an empty Newmarket Road End during the Checkatrade Trophy match against Scunthorpe. (Image: David Johnson)

The lack of atmosphere inside the stadium had not exactly helped, but there had been an element of cut and thrust to the play before those stoppages.

But, after a very flat period, the Iron broke the deadlock and it was no

surprise to see Williams find the back of the net. Having looked pretty solid at the back, the U’s defence allowed the midfielder to break into the box and fire past Norris.

United attempted to provide a swift response and a deflected shot from Williamson was not far wide, before a sublime move almost resulted in a magical moment for Foy on his debut.

A perfect sliding challenge from Dunne started it, with a lovely pass from Davies enabling Clark to pick out Foy at the back stick, but his fierce goalbound shot was brilliantly blocked by Iron captain Murray Wallace.

The United youngsters made it a hat-trick at the start of the second half, with Harry Darling entering the fray for his debut in place of Dunne.

The Burwell-based defender soon got stuck in, playing on the right-hand side of a back three, with one well-timed interception starting a counter-attack that saw Foy nutmeg his marker before being stopped in his tracks.

He showed good positional sense on several occasions to snuff out danger and he also drew a flying save from Joe Anyon, although the offside flag had been raised.

Sean Long had a bright second half on the left flank and he tested Anyon, before Maris, who had a quiet night in his first match for a few months, was also thwarted by the sprawling goalkeeper.

The U’s finished the game strongly and Elito came to the fore, pulling the strings in midfield, although the Iron did always pose a threat on the counter and Norris had to claw the ball off the line from Williams.

Davies popped up in the Scunthorpe box to fire a shot wide as the U’s pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but they were picked off on the break in added time as the classy Hakeeb Adelakun guided the ball past Norris.